Deafness in the Arab world: a general investigation, with applications to Lebanon" Michael Broughton II A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics Swarthmore College Fall 2017 Introduction As a student of both linguistics and Arabic studies, I am always intrigued by the ways in which the two fields intersect. There is, of course, the study of the Arabic language, with its extensive history and unique assortment of remarkable linguistic phenomena. There is also much to be said about Arabic's relationship with Islam, and the fact that the language and the religion have influenced each other profoundly. The Arabic language - both its standard form and its many regional dialects - has indeed been the subject of much linguistic scholarship in past decades. What seems to be scarce in the literature, however, is extensive study of deafness and the deaf communities that reside in regions of the world where Arabic is spoken. The goal of the present paper is to begin to fill this gap by looking into the situation surrounding deafness, deaf community, and sign languages in the Arab world generally, before focusing more narrowly on how these ideas might play out and inform policy in the country of Lebanon. Lebanon is a relatively educated and politically stable Arab nation, and structures are currently in place there that deal positively with issues of sign languages, deaf rights, and deaf education. This makes the country a suitable entry point for this sort of scholarly investigation. To begin, I extensively cover the practical considerations regarding deafness in the Arab world as a whole. This includes mention of consanguinity, the sign languages used throughout the region, and the present state of deaf education there. Following this is an examination of relevant ethical concerns, particularly those surrounding the relationship between consanguinity, deafness, and culture. I then examine literature about the historically overlooked linguistic significance of sign languages, as well as the sociolinguistic and sociological characteristics of the communities they serve. Finally, I enter a discussion about Lebanon, and consider how themes and patterns from throughout the Arab world might inform a concrete understanding about the deaf situation in this particular country. Along with this, I have sought to highlight policy efforts that are leading to positive developments for Lebanon's deaf population, and what continued work could be done in this regard. Ultimately, this investigation seeks to adequately characterize deafness in the Arab world, and how what is being done in Lebanon might provide a useful model for addressing similar issues in other Arab countries. The Arab world, though composed of 22 different nations, nonetheless experiences a considerable degree of linguistic, religious, and cultural unity. As such, effective practices in one Arab nation might model potential solutions for others. Deafness across the Arab world Consanguinity: The main cause Consanguinity, literally "blood relation," is the property of being recently descended from the same ancestor as another person. The term is typically used when referring to marriages and the subsequent reproduction that occurs between members of the same family line. Such marriages are called "consanguineous marriages" or "endogamous marriages," and they are common practice among regions of the Arab world. The Middle East, of which the countries of the Arab world are a subset, has quite a diverse population. However, communities of people in this region from similar ethnic backgrounds and family lines have historically been demographically isolated despite their geographic proximity, and remain so today (Al-Fityani and Padden, 2010). The preservation of these family lines has led to a high incidence of genetic similarity among the people of these communities. Many people are born and live their lives in these communities, and they select or receive spouses from among their closely-related neighbors. Qatar, for example, has one of the highest consanguinity rates in the world (54%), which involves intermarriage between very close family members - 34.8% of marriages there occur between first cousins (Bener et. ai, 2005, p. 328). Of course, marrying consanguineously is not always simply a matter of convenience in the Arab world; there is often cultural, social, and/or economic importance associated with the continuation of a certain bloodline. Hamamy and Bittles (2009, p. 32) list several advantages associated with consanguineous marriage which include: • The assurance of knowing one's spouse prior to marriage. • Simplified premarital negotiations. • Greater social compatibility of the bride with her husband's family. • Maintenance of the integrity of family land which may otherwise be divided by inheritance. • The assurance of strengthening family ties. It is presumably for reasons like these that Qatar and its geographical neighbors have such high rates of consanguinity. Likely because of this consanguinity, however, Qatar also has one of the highest rates of infant hearing loss/deafness in the world (Storbeck, 2012). It is widely thought that consanguinity is a leading genetic cause of deafness. Denoyelle et al. (1997) classify "pre lingual non-syndromic deafness" as "the most frequent hereditary sensory defect" (p. 2173). In the vast majority (over 80%) of cases, the mode of transmission of this deafness is autosomal recessive. This means that two copies (one from each parent) of an abnormal gene must be present for a disease or trait to be passed on to the child (MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, 2016). It is thus likely that, in a consanguineous marriage, both parents may pass on to their child a deafness-causing autosomal recessive gene inherited from a common ancestor. Although consanguinity is not required for deafness to be inherited, consanguinity on the part of the parents "greatly increases the chance" that the trait will be passed on to the child (Zakzouk, 2002, p. 811). When a trait is recessive, it means that the gene associated with it may be present in a person even if the trait itself is not. Thus, a child can inherit deafness, or at least the gene associated with it, even ifhis parents are not themselves deaf. Due to the high prevalence of consanguinity, there is a higher incidence of deafness in many Arab countries than is often seen in parts of the West. Worldwide, about 1 to 3 in 1000 infants is born with hearing loss, but this figure rises to higher levels in regions of the Arab world. In Palestine, for example, the frequency of infant deafness is up to 70% higher than the global average, with even higher rates present in some villages (AI-Fityani and Padden, 2010). Arab sign languages Because of consanguineous reproduction, deafness in Arab communities tends to be hereditary rather than a result of an isolated disease or mutation. AI-Fityani and Padden (2010) point out that this fact stimulates the development and usage of sign languages, in ways that might not occur in communities where deafness is rarer and more often accompanied by larger health issues. In one respect, hereditary deafness results in there being a higher proportion of deaf individuals distributed throughout the community, so signing is not restricted to deaf people (p. 6). In another respect, again because of the hereditary nature of this deafness, the sign languages that deaf Arabs use tend to survive throughout family generations (ibid). A deaf Arab child may learn the local sign language in the home, and have it reinforced by both deaf and hearing interlocutors in his community. In communities where deafness is less frequent and not sustained across generations, the survival of a sign language is more dependent on whether or not deaf people have access to "organizations or institutions" designed specifically for them (ibid). These might include deaf clubs that are separate from the greater hearing community, or robust policies that recognize sign languages and deafness in education. This is not to say that deaf institutions are unimportant in the Arab world; in fact, the lack of them often impacts deaf Arab communities negatively. It remains true, though, that Arab sign languages have emerged and been sustained outside of the confines of these sorts of institutions. These kinds of sign languages are generally termed "village sign languages," and the phenomenon of their emergence across the globe is well-researched (Zeshan and De Vos, 2012 is particularly comprehensive). Among the village sign languages used in Arab regions, AI-Sayyid Bedouin Sign Language and Algerian Jewish Sign Language (both now used among Arabs living in Israel) have in particular been studied (ibid). Village sign languages differ from national sign languages, which tend to have more formal and widespread recognition. One of the most well-known national Arab sign languages is Levantine Sign Language, which is used primarily in Jordan and Lebanon. Other national sign languages are present in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Libya, several of which have borrowings from American and European sign languages (Abdel-Fattah, 2005, p. 213). There have been efforts to create a centralized, standardized Arabic Sign Language. This would serve to mirror spoken Arabic, which has both a standard, formal counterpart (Modern Standard Arabic) and an abundance of region-specific dialects. Indeed, a somewhat standard version of Levantine Sign Language is used during some satellite Al Jazeera newscasts (AI-Fityani and Padden, 2010). Also, the Council of Arab Ministers of Social Affairs (CAMS A) has compiled a dictionary using vocabulary from Egyptian Sign Language and Saudi Sign Language (ibid), as part of the cataloguing and standardization process. Efforts to make standardized Arab Sign Language a used reality, however, have been largely unsuccessful. Deaf Arab individuals have trouble understanding a standardized language that they did not grow up using. Additionally, imposing a standard where there already exist many different naturally-formed sign languages has a colonial sense about it (ibid).